Melbourne (FL) Holy Trinity athlete Marcus Maye has had the attention of his home-state schools for some time, picking up early offers from Florida, Florida State and Miami but a stellar start to his junior season gained him the attention of schools from around the country, including the Alabama Crimson Tide. Maye was in Tuscaloosa last Friday to witness the Tide's Iron Bowl clash with the Auburn Tigers and the 6-foot-2, 190-pound prospect was blown away by the atmosphere in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"I got there on Friday morning and was really just there for the day because I had to head to Tallahassee for the Florida State-Florida game the next day," Maye said "It took us a while to even get to the stadium because there were so many fans in town. It was pretty crazy. Once we got to the stadium, it was amazing. The facilities are unbelievable and we got a chance to talk to some of the coaches before the game. Then we went down on the sidelines during pre-game before we headed up to the stands for the game."

"The atmosphere during the game was crazy. It was pretty consistent through the whole game but in the first quarter when Alabama got up big, it was like nothing I had ever heard in my life. I really think the team was feeding off the fans and their energy in the first half and I think the crowd actually played a pretty big role in what happened early in that game. Auburn is a great team and they overcame it eventually but I really don't think there's an atmosphere that can have that kind of effect anywhere else in the country. It was a lot louder than what I heard the next day at Florida State. It really wasn't even close."

Maye said the last-minute loss for the Tide was disappointing but didn't affect what was otherwise a thrilling visit.

"Even though Alabama didn't win, it was a great trip overall and I was really impressed with everything I saw. I talked to Coach Bobby Williams a good bit and told me they are planning to come down and see me soon. They really like my size and playing style and they are very interested in learning more about me. Alabama likes me as a defensive back, which is pretty much what most schools have told me so far."

After rupturing his calf muscle midway through the season, Maye missed four games before coming back to finish out the season strong. Maye said he believes he has fully recovered from the injury and plans to continue to test his leg in the offseason with other sports.

"I really hate that I wasn't able to help the team more this season. I played corner but I also played running back and I was really playing well for our offense before I got hurt. I had back-to-back 300-yard games and I ended up with 15 touchdowns in six games. Thankfully, I am back to 100 percent now with my leg and I plan on playing basketball and running track in the offseason to help me get back in shape and keeping testing that leg until I have that confidence back."